Spoiler warnings for ME 3.

[In parts one and two of this multipart article, we looked at the basic claims of IT, as well as examining some of the ideas advanced by the debunkers. For a refresher, you can find part one, and part two by clicking through the links.]

III The Straight and Narrow

On reaching the Citadel, Shepard’s vision is no longer blurred. She finds herself in an area that is choked with dead human bodies, much the same as the ground leading up to the Conduit in London. The remains found here are more distinct, something that Shepard points out, with individual limbs and even a few faces visible. There is a single keeper in this area that both ignores Shepard and that also can’t be killed if fired upon.[1] Contacting Anderson, Shepard learns that he came up shortly after she did, but ended up in a different place. IT states that this is impossible, as the game offers only one path for Shepard to reach the control panel that is her ultimate goal. They also note that the Illusive Man (the former Jack Harper) later appears from behind Shepard, meaning that he also came from this area. IT proponents point to this as proof that this is all a hallucination. This may be true, but none of it actually counts as proof. And, in any case, the Illusive Man’s mysterious appearance behind Shepard is same kind of surprise move often seen in action movies. It’s not so much an oversight as it is a commonplace.

Much more interesting is what Shepard sees along the way. As numerous observers have pointed out, this version of the Citadel contains design elements seen elsewhere in the Mass Effect series. The first room is reminiscent of the Collector ship from Mass Effect 2, though the lighting and the structure of the room suggest various locations on Omega, most notably Afterlife. The next space Shepard enters is a large open area that curves away from her both to the left and to the right. Sparks of electricity shoot through the air. The only path is forward, down a ramp, and across a bridge, which is bordered on either side by a series of panels that slide against one another. Many of these elements—the bridge, the lightning, the sliding panels—are borrowed from a downloadable episode for Mass Effect 2, “Lair of the Shadow Broker,” and all seem to be clearly meant to reference the Shadow Broker’s ship. Reaching the other side of the ramp, there are two structures that look like antennae or railings that again reference both the lightning rods found on the Shadow Broker’s ship, as well as the defense turrets found on the exterior of the Citadel during the final battle of the first Mass Effect. Each of these “railings” is stamped with a logo. On the left hand side this reads “1M1”, while on the right, these characters are reversed (which is only somewhat noticeable; the reversed “1M1″ appears in the area where Shepard meets the Catalyst, too). Ascending the other side of the ramp, and looking up, Shepard appears to be entering a space not unlike that from the original Mass Effect, when she storms the Council Chambers to fight Saren her climactic battle against Saren. It’s hard to say what all these design choices mean specifically. They don’t necessarily prove or disprove either IT, or those who would debunk the theory. For instance, the final area that Shepard enters is circular. A long catwalk joins to a circular platform. Perhaps instead of assuming there is only one entrance, one could argue that it is just as likely the room could have rotated a few degrees to the right or left to allow Anderson in before Shepard reached it. Anderson even says, “Whoa, one of the walls just shifted,” a few moments before Shepard finds him, standing over the control panel.[2] All the same, when taken as a whole these elements do seem to be pointing somewhere, though making a more specific statement may prove difficult. The following figures illustrate some of the references to earlier Mass Effect games, and other locations that Shepard has visited.

Fig. 5. Shepard, seen here in the area where she first enters the Citadel. Visual references point most specifically to the Collector Ship, as well as Afterlife on Omega. Notes and other additions added by original poster. (Source: Imgur.com)[3]

Fig. 6. An image from the next area Shepard enters, which seems to reference the Shadow Broker’s ship. (Source: Imgur.com)

Fig. 7. The ramp leading to the final area. Note the lettering “1M1” on the railing. The railing itself resembles the lightning masts on the Shadow Broker’s ship as well as—as the original poster points out—the forward part of the Normandy. (Source: Imgur.com)

Fig. 8. The area where the final confrontation with the Illusive Man takes place. The background is taken from the final sequence of the original Mass Effect. The original poster also points to a certain similarity to Cronos station. (Source: Imgur.com)

One thing that bears mentioning is these are some of the final moments where Shepard is actually a controllable character. Once Shepard emerges onto the platform behind Anderson, the action—aside from the brief moment where she is able to choose the red, blue or green options, is essentially one long cinematic sequence, where Shepard’s and the player’s gaze have been predetermined. We’re used to this kind of thing, of course. Players see it in games all the time, and multiple sources, among them, the writer who operates the site The Galactic Pillow, note that as recently as last November, Bioware was working on a mechanic that would have left Shepard more controllable by the player, before ultimately deciding to abandon it in favor of the ending we have now.

Let’s assume for a moment that losing control of Shepard means nothing in particular, and that it is merely a manifestation of Bioware’s inability to make a bit of gameplay work the way they wanted it to. Consider that, in a sense, Shepard has been out of our control since well before she left the ground in London. Once she exits the truck to make the rush to the Conduit, her path is essentially linear. After her arrival on the Citadel, the same holds true. There’s only one way to move. This may not be an indication of indoctrination, but the linearity of these final moments is interesting. There is only one path: forward, on toward your destiny.

The sequence that follows Shepard’s arrival at the control panel involves the final confrontation with the Illusive Man. His entry is marked by tendrils of black “smoke” encroaching on all sides of the screen, and these seem to both advance and retreat somewhat in sync with the level of domination he is exerting over Shepard. Both IT proponents and detractors make much of this scene. It does, after all, represent the final struggle between indoctrination and free will, whether or not the entire scene plays out in the physical world or in Shepard’s mind. There’s little here to convince us to accept one particular reading of the scene over the other, though it is worth noting that this scene in particular is where IT proponents place too much meaning, while the detractors tend to see things too literally.

What’s important in this scene is that the Illusive Man, whether physically present or a figment of Shepard’s imagination, is capable of taking control of her body, of forcing her to point her weapon at Anderson, and then pull the trigger. After a brief argument with the Illusive Man, one that will no doubt remind most players of the final battle with Saren in Mass Effect, Shepard either convinces the Illusive Man to commit suicide, or kills him herself, thus clearing the final hurdle to firing the Crucible.[4] Shepard steps forward, touches the controls, and the Citadel arms begin opening.

She then takes a moment to rest beside the mortally wounded Anderson, as they talk, and as Anderson slowly dies, Shepard realizes that she, too, is bleeding from a wound located in the lower left part of her abdomen (remember that earlier she was shot in her right shoulder, too). Much discussion surrounds the exact cause and placement of this injury. IT holds that it is in the same location as Anderson’s, and point to the sequence where Shepard is forced to shoot her former commander. A801506 has shown that this observation isn’t correct: the bullet seems to strike Anderson in the lower right side of his body. Thus Anderson isn’t so much a “double” of Shepards conscience, as he is a mirror image of her. And so, if as IT would have us believe, Anderson is merely a “reflection” of a portion of Shepard’s mind, it would follow that they should have wounds on opposite sides of their body. As seen earlier with the “1M1” appearing on the left, and its inverted image appearing on the right, placing Anderson on Shepard’s right remains in keeping with this mirror image theme.

Some suggest that the “1M1” inversion is a result of copying and pasting that particular element, then “flipping” the image to make it fit with the environment. This explanation certainly makes sense, though it doesn’t particularly jibe with the attention that seems to have been lavished on the design of the rest of the game. It also doesn’t take into account that numerous other environmental elements are reused elsewhere in the game, many of them bearing some kind of text or numerals, but these last two areas are the only locations in the game where mirrored characters and numerals are visible. [Edit 5/27/2012: Actually, there are a few other locations where reversed characters are visible; in particular the sequence TM 889, seen on the side of one of the radios in the opening sequence of the game, bears the characters 889 MT on the reverse side. This element is repeated at least once in another location, on a beam overhead as Shepard enters the spaceport.] (It also bears mentioning that this area has few other logos or symbols of any kind on the walls, almost as though to draw attention to what little writing there is.)

A brief conversation between Shepard and Anderson ensues, where the dying mentor and his onetime apprentice share a well-deserved moment of peace. But Anderson is fading fast. He dies like the good, brave soldier he is; and Shepard, now alone, hears Admiral Hackett’s voice coming over the radio. Hearing his voice, she begins crawling again toward the control panel only to collapse before reaching it.

How, IT proponents want to know, does Hackett know Shepard made it to the Citadel, and how can she hear him, given that her radio was probably destroyed when she was shot by Harbinger. There are two simple explanations to this, the first being that Hacket must be able to see that the Citadel is opening, and if it is, he can probably assume that Shepard is the one doing the opening. As for how she can hear him, heroes aren’t often thwarted by something as trivial as a broken walkie-talkie. Messages that arrive too late and other such breakdowns belong to the tragic mode, not the epic.[5] As she collapses onto her hands and knees in front of the control panel, that same burst of white light envelops Shepard. A brief animation shows her body being carried “upward.”[6] When she awakes, she is again in a new area that is, apparently on the outer hull of the Citadel. In front of her is some kind of coupling where the Citadel and the Crucible are joined together, though not touching. She is, it appears, no longer bleeding from her wounds.

Read Part IV